Saturated aldehydes represented by propionaldehyde are an important substance in the chemical industry to be used as a starting material of solvents, an intermediate of chemical products, a solvent for pharmaceutical intermediate production and the like. The production methods of lower saturated aldehydes are significantly different depending on the number of carbon atoms constituting the aldehydes. For example, acetaldehyde of a C2 aldehyde is industrially produced by the Wacker oxidation of ethylene (Non-Patent Document 1). In addition, it is general to produce butyraldehyde of a C4 aldehyde by the hydroformylation reaction of propylene (Non-Patent Document 2).
Meanwhile, propionaldehyde of a C3 aldehyde can be obtained by the hydroformylation reaction of ethylene (Non-Patent Document 2). In addition, propionaldehyde can be obtained by the partial hydrogenation of allyl alcohol as a starting material which is obtained through the hydrolysis of allyl acetate obtained by the acetoxylation of propylene (Patent Document 1) or through the isomerization of propylene oxide as a starting material (Patent Document 2).
However, extensive capital investment is required for the construction of the hydroformylation reaction equipment. In addition, the acetoxylation of propylene requires a corrosion resistant facility since acetic acid is used in the reaction, and thus extensive capital investment is required as well. On the other hand, propylene oxide is difficult to handle due to its high reactivity in the case of using propylene oxide as the starting material. Furthermore, in the case of obtaining a saturated aldehyde by the partial hydrogenation of allyl alcohol as the starting material, there is a case in which a part of the carbonyl moiety is also hydrogenated to decrease the selectivity of the target product. Moreover, a method to obtain propionaldehyde by the dehydrogenation of 1-propanol is also known, but there is a problem in the supply of 1-propanol of the starting material. In addition, a method is reported (Patent Document 3) in which propionaldehyde of a lower saturated aldehyde is synthesized using 1,2-propanediol as the starting material and a heteropoly acid or a heteropoly acid-catalyst support composite as a catalyst.